Method of ironing shoes



UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH E. GROAT, OF WEBSTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN'OR, TO B. A. GORBIN AND SON COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF IRONING SHOES.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrrr E. GRoA'r, a subjectof Great Britain, residing at Nebster, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Ironing Shoes, of which the following description is a specification.

The handling to which a boot or shoe is subjected during the various steps in its process of manufacture usually results in wrinkling the upper to such an extent that it is necessary to smooth out these wrinkles in order to present the shoe in salable condition. The operation by which this smoothing of the upper is accomplished is known in the trade as treeing or ironing and it usually includes not only the smoothing out of the wrinkles, but also the cleaning of the upper and sometimes the application of dressing to the leather. Certain of the processes of manufacture also tend directly to introduce wrinkles in the upper. For instance, in the lasting operation, the overdrawing of the upper and the securing of it on the sole-receiving face of the insole introduces puckers and wrinkles which run back into the part of the upper that will be exposed to view in the finished shoe. These wrinkles as well as those introduced in the upper in the manner above described can usually be taken out very easily by rubbing the wrinkled part with a heated tool of suitable shape, such tools usually being referred to as irons. It is impractical, however, to use a heated tool on some kinds of upper leathers, such, for instance, as certain grades of russet or tan upper stocks, for the reason that it tends to form a glaze on the "surface of some leathers and more particularly because it discolors most upper stocks of the character mentioned. This apparently is due to some effect that the heated iron has on the oil in the stock since the dry leathers are much less liable to be damaged in this manner than oil tanned stock. But, whatever may be the cause of this action, it has been found from experience that a heated iron cannot, as a general rule, be used on colored stocks, and in ironing shoes having uppers made of this material, the treeing and smoothing operations are performed with tools that are not heated. Very frequently it is impossible to completely eradicate wrinkles with a cold tree- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 11, 1917.

' Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

Serial No. 173,958.

to the relatively poor appearance that they present.

After an extended series of experiments, I have discovered that the injury heretofore produced by ironing colored stocks of the character specified with a heated tool can be eliminated by interposing a relatively thin sheet of asbestos paper or equivalent material between the ironing tool and the part of the upper that is being operated upon by the tool. Inasmuch as asbestos paper is relatively weak mechanically, I find it preferable to interpose between the paper and the tool a sheet of some inexpensive textile fabric, such, for instance, as that commonly known as scrim. This fabric prevents the heated iron from tearing the paper and conforms readily to the contour of the part of the shoe that is being treated. The paper, of course, is flexible enough to conform readily also to the shape of the shoe; and I find that by rubbing the ironing tool in the usual way over the part of the shoe in which the wrinkles appear while the leather is protected by these sheets of material, the wrinkles can be very readily removed and all danger of damaging the shoe is completely avoided. Only relatively thin asbestos paper need be used for this purpose. I find that very satisfactory results are ob tained by using the commercial asbestos paper commonly known as #10 and which is about one fortieth of an inch in thickness.

By following this process I am enabled to 9 remove wrinkles which could not be removed from colored stocks of the character designated by any method heretofore practised, so far as I am aware, without discoloring the stock to such an extent as to impair the salability of the shoe fully as much as would the presence of the wrinkles. In other words, this improvement in the process of ironing shoes enables me to obtain the same advantageous results'on shoes having uppers made of colored leathers that are now obtained by ironing black leathers with heated tools.

What is claimed as new, is

1. That improvement in the process of ironing the uppers of shoes which consists in interposing a flexible sheet of asbestos between the upper and the heated ironing tool used to smooth out the Wrinkles in the upper.

2. That improvement in the process of ironing out Wrinkles in the upper'lather of shoes which consists in covering the part of the shoe to be treated with a relatively thin sheet of asbestos paper and using a heated tool to rub out thewrinkles in the leather while it is 50 protected.

3. That improvement. in the proc'ss of ironing out wrinklesin' the upper leather of shoes Which consists in covering the part of the shoe to be'treated with a relatively thin sheet of asbestos paper and a sheet of textile fabric, the asbestos sheet being placed neXt to the leather, and using a heated tool to rub out the Wrinkles in the leather While it is protected by said sheet materials.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH E; GROAT, 

